MECHANICS OF THE INNER EAR i3 I 



Thus far we have studied the efifect upon the relative tone 

 intensities of initial and more distant sections which would 

 result from a uniform increase in width of 

 Increase in width ^^^ partition as compared with a uniform 

 of partition width. But we know that the partition 



not uniform does not increase uniformly, but rapid- 



ly at first, near the windows, and more 

 slowly the farther we go from the windows (Fig. 24). To 

 understand the theoretical result of this manner of increase, 

 it is not necessary to compute a new table. It is plain that, 

 if a more distant section increases less than we assumed in 

 computing the preceding table, showing the corresponding 

 values of m and x^ this would cause a longer piece of this dis- 

 tant part of the partition to move in order to make room for 

 a certain quantity of displaced fluid. That is, the decrease in 

 the broadening of the partition would counteract the eflfect 

 last discussed. We saw in the preceding paragraph that an 

 increase in the intensity of the whole sound does not leave 

 the relative intensities of the partial tones unaltered, but favors 

 the intensities of the tones on the initial sections, reduces 

 those on the distant sections. But now, if we increase the in- 

 tensity of the whole sound, we throw the tones of the more 

 distant sections on still more distant sections, that is, on sec- 

 tions where the broadening of the partition is much less than 

 that assumed in the table. Consequently, the tones of distant 

 sections cannot lose in percentage as much as a derivation 

 from the table would indicate, but might even gain somewhat 

 in percentage of intensity through an increase of the total in- 

 tensity of the sound. 



